Irish sprinter Jason Smyth, the fastest Paralympian on the planet, has spoken
of his shock at hearing that American Tyson Gay, an athlete he has trained
alongside for the last four years, has failed a doping test.

Troubled times: Tyson Gay has shocked the world of athletics after returning a positive test for a banned substance Photo: AFP

Visually impaired Smyth, 25, who won Paralympic 100m and 200m gold at both the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Paralympic Games has been a fixture in Florida since 2009 training alongside Gay and only returned from his latest stint in America in early June.

"You can only speculate about others but for me personally I am 100 per cent sure about every supplement I take."

"I think the big thing is you don’t take anything for granted, I would not trust anybody without knowing for sure myself and that is why I can be confident in what I’m doing."

"I know as much information as everyone else on the matter and I was absolutely shocked at what I read.

"At the moment I’m trying to not get distracted by it as we’re five days away from a World Championships and so I’m trying to focus on that.